The New York Guardians lost to the St. Louis Battlehawks by the score of 29 to 9, dropping the Guardians to 1-2 on the season. After being the first XFL team to get shut out last week against the DC Defenders, the Guardians didn’t score a touchdown until the fourth quarter against the Battlehawks.
It is safe to say that the Guardian’s offense is a cause for concern. Including last week’s game, New York went seven quarters without scoring a touchdown. The Guardians have scored four touchdowns all season, which is tied for last in the XFL.
There has been no consistency at QB for the Guardians. Matt McGloin hasn’t been good while leaving in the middle of the last two games with an injury. McGloin has one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown, and three interceptions so far this season.
Backup QBs Marquise Williams and Luis Perez both made appearances against the Battlehawks, with Perez throwing the only touchdown pass for the Guardians. Given the way McGloin has played, perhaps the Guardians should start Williams or Perez next week. The Guardians won’t win too many football games if they can’t get their passing game in order.
No wide receiver on the Guardians had more than 43 yards or more than 4 receptions against the Battlehawks. No player caught a pass for longer than 21 yards. The Guardians have been incapable of making large plays down the field.
While the passing game has been virtually nonexistent, the Guardian’s run game has been much better. Tim Cook rushed for 50 yards averaging 5.6 yards per rush. Cook had a 33-yard rush, which was the longest offensive play for the Guardians. Darius Victor also rushed for 50 yards averaging 5 yards per rush. Cook and Victor were way more productive on a per yards basis than the passing game.
On the defensive end, Bunmi Rotimi led the Guardians with 6 tackles. Rotimi is fourth in the XFL with 16 tackles for the season. The Guardian’s defense has only given up 6 touchdowns all season, which is tied for second to last in the XFL. Only the St. Louis Battlehawks have given up fewer touchdowns this season.
Former Washington Redskins running back Matt Jones, who is now on the Battlehawks, ran all over the Guardians. Jones rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown averaging 6.3 yards per carry. The Guardians were unable to stop Jones and will need to improve their run-stopping defense if they want to put themselves in a better position to compete next week.
The Guardians look like the second-worst team in the XFL behind the Tampa Bay Vipers. After the Guardians beat the Vipers in Week 1, frankly the team hasn’t competed since and their offense has seriously struggled. The Guardian’s touchdowns for/touchdowns against ratio is -2, which is second to worst in the XFL behind the Viper’s ratio of -5.
Week 3’s game against the Battlehawks wasn’t particularly close, and there was a feeling the entire game that the Guardians were not going to win this game. With two weeks in a row of putrid offense, the Guardians need to get it together if they want to make the playoffs. The Guardians can’t afford to figure it out in a few weeks. They need to win now so they don’t fall too far behind to come back.
During Week 4 next week, the Guardians play the Los Angeles Wildcats who are second in the XFL in touchdowns. The two teams will square off on Saturday, February 29th at 2 PM ET.